Kiln furniture



Aug. 7, 1934.

E. B. FORSE KILN FURNITURE Filed Dec. 1931 ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 7, 1934 PATENT OFFICE KILN- FURNITURE Edwin B. Forse, Metuchen, N. J., assigncr to The Carborundum Company, Niagara Falls, N. Y., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application December 8, 1931, Serial No. 579,716 3 Claims. (c1. 25 153) This invention relates to a device for supporting ceramic ware, and particularly to'a device for supporting and exposing ceramic ware to the action of heat in a kiln.

Heretofore, in the manufacture of ware supporting structures, it has been the general practice to erect a plurality of posts on the floor of the structure and then place the shelf on the top of these vertical posts. If itis desired to carry the load higher, additional posts are erected .on the shelf and ordinarily cemented thereto. This method of building the structure by means of individual posts secured to the shelves does not make for a structure which is mechanically stable. Should it be desired, moreover, to remove a shelf for any reason, it is necessary to tear down the shelves and posts above the one to be removed, and frequently, the entire structure has to be disassembled.' This procedure, obviously, results in a wasted time and labor which tends to appreciably raise the production cost of the ware. In addition, these structures necessitate the bearing by the shelves of the weight not only of the upper shelves and ware, but also of the upper posts. Such enforced strain materially shortens the life of the'shelves and is an additional factor in the increase in production cost of the ware.

'The shelves upon which the ware is placed are ordinarily made of'metal, clay, or other material, and such shelves, even though supported by a plurality of posts, begin to sag and get out of true, resulting in distortion of the ware, or its breakage. As an improvement. over the prior structures, the supporting structure made according to my invention is mechanically stable through the provision of one-piece posts which eliminate the use of cement, and through the provision of a dowel joint between the posts and top shelf. This dowel joint insures the retention of the entire structure in proper alignment Lafter successive burnings. In addition to the provision of a mechanically stable assembly, these one-piece posts also insure a longer life of the shelves inasmuch as the latter do not have to carry the weight of the posts above the shelves.

These one-piece posts or piers are provided with projections on which the shelves may be easily inserted or removed by reason of the corners of the shelves being recessed so as to permit the corners to fit around the posts and yet be readily detached therefrom. This feature permits the removal of any one of the shelves below to give access to a tile, or to replace a broken tile, and eliminates the necessity of disassembling and the subsequent reconstruction of the entire structure.

Moreover, in my construction I provide shelves composed of silicon carbide or like material. The construction of the shelves of silicon carbide renders them very strong and thus prevents the sagging known in prior structures.

The advantages of silicon carbide as compared with clay and some other refractory materials are illustrated by the following table:

In the above table the resistances to spalling and to abrasion are relative values taken with re- 'spect to fire 'clay as 1.

The great mechanical strength of silicon carbide at elevated temperatures prolongs the life of the shelves and posts made of silicon carbide. Its highthermal conductivity facilitates transfer of heat and is an' important factor in reducing breakage of the parts made of silicon carbide. This use of silicon'carbide also eliminates the provision of supporting postsmounted elsewhere than at the corners of the shelves.

Other advantages of my invention will become apparent from the following description and drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the support comprising three tiers of shelves;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a single center shelf section; p

' Fig. 3 is a partial section on the line III-III of Fig. 1, showing the assembled shelf sections and posts with two of the upper shelf sections removed, indicating the manner in which the shelf sections are removably positioned therein;

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of an extension plug which may be mounted upon the top of the posts; and

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the base, showing the parts in section on the line V-V of Figure 1.

As shown in the drawing, one-piece refractory posts or piers 2, preferably of silicon carbide, are

erected on the base 1 of the support, and extend upwardly from the base 1 to the top shelf 3, which is placed at the top to support ware thereon. En-

largements 4, of any desired number, according to the distance desired between the shelves, are formed on the posts 2 and project beyond the diameter of the posts 2 so as to provide projections or ledges 5. These projections or ledges support the shelves 6 which are recessed at their corners in the manner shown in Fig. 2, to removably fit about the posts 2 and rest on the projections 5.

Through the use of silicon carbide shelves which are appreciably thinner than those shelves formerly used, and the subsequent elimination of additional supporting posts (usually six under the longitudinal axis of the shelf and under the edges) a considerable amount of space is conserved. For example, in a support measuring 6' x 4', the elimination of six posts saves over a cubic foot of setting space per deck, and the use of 2 silicon carbide instead of 2 tile saves one cubic foot per deck or a total of four cubic feet for a two deck car. This provision for treating a larger quantity of ware at one time thanhas ordinarily been possible insures a considerable saving in cost per unit of ware burned, and this is a desirable object in the commercial production of ceramic wa e,

In the constructionof this improved support, nine posts 2 are erected on the base i of the support;- one at each corner, one midway of each side, and one at the center; the base 1 being formed of eight tile sections shown in Fig. 5. The posts 2 are formed with ledges which may in fact be merely side extensions of the posts themselves, and as shown in Fig. l, the corner posts do not have these projections on all sides. Although only two projections are shown on each post, it

will be understood that as many ledges as desired may be formed on the posts at the time the posts are made, the number of the ledges depending upon the height of the articles to be exposed to the heat treatment. Four sections of tile 6 forming the shelves are placed. to rest on the projec= tions or ledges 5 and the recessed corners of the tile-sections 6 fit about the posts 2. The recess 12 of each tile is placed adjacent the center post 8. The recesses 9 and 11 at the corners adjacent the recess 12 accommodate the middle outside posts, while the recess which is diagonally opposite the recess 12 accommodates a corner post, The placing of all four tile sections on these ledges in this manner forms a continuous shelf,

any section of which may be removed without diificulty.

The subsequent shelves are erected in the same fashion with the exception of the top shelf which in the preferred form of construction is formed of tile sections 3 which have no recessed corners. However, in sections 3, sockets 14 are formed in the corner of the tile which is placed on the center post, and at the two adjacent corners. As these tile sections are placed upon the posts 2, the sockets l4 fit over the slight projections 15 which are formed on the posts corresponding to the sockets of the tile sections 3. It will be apparent from the showing in Fig. 3 that upon the center post there will be four projections, while on the adjacent posts, there will. be but two. Such sockets and projections give a dowel joint which prevents the top shelf from being accidentally displaced and which serves to hold the structure in true alignment.

Should it be desired to raise the top shelf to accommodate articles too large to burn in the ordinary standard support, I have provided means for increasing the height of the support. Such means consists in a projection plug 16, as shown in Fig. *1, which fits in the posts 2 and projects a small distance above the posts. Upon these projections the tile sections 3 are placed and fitted in substantially the same manner as above described.

In Figs. 3 and 5, I have shown small holes 13 along the center jointure of the tile sections. These small holes permit the free circulation of the heat, and prevent the confinement of heat in the lower compartments, thus producing a uniformity of temperature throughout the entire structure.

In Fig. 1, small bevels are shown in the bottom tiles. Such bevels take care of the sand used in the setting of the ware, as when the tile edges are parallel and sand acts as an expansion agent and pushes the tiles apart. When the tiles are used as described, the sand falls into the V and is readily removed.

Various modifications and additions may be made with relation to my hereindescribed structure, but it is to be understood that-they will be within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A ware support comprising in combination a plurality of posts having ledges, removable tiles extending between said posts and resting freely on said ledges, and dowel connections between the uppermost tiles and said posts to keep the posts in true alignment.

2. A ware support for burning ceramic ware, comprising a supporting structure, hollow posts mounted thereon and having enlargements integral therewith projecting from said posts to supportv shelves set thereon projection plugs fitted into the top of said posts and supported direct- 1y thereby, and adapted to support additional shelves.

3. A ware support comprising a supporting structure, unitary posts mounted thereon and extending continuously to the top of the ware sup port, said posts having enlargements integral therewith and projecting laterally from said] posts to receive and support shelves, and dowel joints between the uppermost tiles and said parts.

EDWIN B. FORSE. 

